My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Results tagged ‘ Twins ’

Boy, a lot of news have been released by the Phils today. Along with their announcement of selecting Darren Daulton as the newest member of the Phils’ Walk of Fame (See previous post), and the expected return of regular shortstop, leader and sparkplug, Jimmy Rollins, the Phils have made several more announcements:

1) To make room for JayRo, the Phils have sent the struggling Greg Dobbs, who is at the moment batting a lousy .152, with one homer and six RBIs, and is only 1 for 25 as a pinch hitter, to assignment. If he clears waivers, Dobbs will likely be sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, to get some well needed at-bats to get his swing back, if he is not either claimed on waivers by another team or is not traded by the Phils within the next 10 days;

2) Carlos Ruiz has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, as he continues to recover from getting his bell rung by a broken bat swing against the back of his head during last Friday night’s game with the Twins. This will leave Brian Schneider as the no. 1 catcher (UGH!) and Dane Sardinha, who was called up after Friday’s game to act as the backup, will stay as the no. 2 catcher, while Ruiz recovers;

3) Scott Mathieson, who came back to the big leagues, was sent back to the minors, with his place on the roster to be taken by Mike Zagurski.

With the above moves the Phils’ bench is now Juan Castro, Wilson Valdez, Ross Gload, Schneider (once Ruiz is back) and Ben Francisco.

With all this, I hope that Rollins will give some life back into the Phils’ starting line-up, with Castro and Valdez both being ready to come off the bench, considering the numbers of at-bats the pair had gotten during Rollins’ two stints on the disabled list. Now, if Francisco can just get his swing back, the bench might actually have improved with Dobbs being sent down. Knock on wood. A lot!!!!

Oh, and Dobbs, if this is the last time that we actually see you in a Phils’ uniform, thanks for helping the team during the last three seasons, but, dude, why did you have to go and stink during the last season plus?

Ruiz, please get well soon.

My thoughts on all these moves? I have no idea on the situation with Mathieson, since it is a tough break from him to be sent back down after returning to the bigs. I just hope the front office knows what it is doing. As for them sending down Dobbs, I think that it was the right move. Dobbs is just not doing it this year, and he might need a temporary (hopefully) change of scenary to (hopefully) get his groove back. As for Rollins’ return, uhm, excuse me….. Yaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhheeeeewwwwww, Jimmy’s back!!!!!! :-) Yes, I’m happy, thank you.

The Phillies (35-32, 3rd NL East) will continue their home stand with a three game series with the Indians (26-42, 5th AL Central), starting with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park, and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound Jamie Moyer (7-6, 4.76), who is coming off a win against the Yankees on June 16, as he pitched a strong eight innings, giving up just two runs, both on home runs, on three hits and a walk, while he struck out six, in the Phils’ 6-3 win. He will be going for his eighth win of the season, while trying to start the series for the Phils on a winning note. The Indians will counter with their ace Mitch Talbot (7-5, 4.21), who is coming off a lost against the Mets on June 16, as he went five and two-thirds innings, being rocked for eight runs on thirteen hits, as he struck out only three, in the Indians’ 8-4 lost. He will be trying to recover from the lost, while hoping that the Phils’ bat don’t erupt. The Phils will be trying to win their second interleague series by hopefully taking advantage of one of the weakest teams of the AL. Hopefully there will not be a repeat of last year’s embarrassment at the hands of the Orioles. Come on guys, time to regroup and clobber the tribe with the bats.

One day after their disappointing lost to the Twins, the once thought reguevnated Phils’ offense once again gives no runs support to their ace, Roy Halladay, as they lose to the Twins, 4-1. I am so getting tired of Interleague Play!!!

The Twins took the lead in the first as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, Joe Mauer hits an RBI single, scoring Orlando Hudson, who had earlier singled, and then stole second base, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. The Twins made it 2-0 in the fifth as, with one man out, Denard Span hits a solo home run, his second home run of the season. The Phils would cut the Twins’ lead to 2-1 in their half of the fifth as, with one man out, Wilson Valdez hits a solo home run of his own, his second of the season, and in as many games. The Twins would then get that run back in the sixth as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Jason Kubel hits an RBI single, scoring Justin Morneau, who had earlier singled, moved to second when Shane Victorino tried to throw him out by throwing behind him at first, and instead commiting a throwing error by allowing him to get to second base, and a Michael Cuddyer’s slow ground out, 6-3, making it a 3-1 Twins’ lead. The Twins then made it 4-1 in the eighth as, with one man out, Morneau hits a solo home run, his fifteenth home run of the season. That would end up being the final score as Twins’ starter Carl Pavano would pitch a complete game by getting Jayson Werth to end the game with a fly out to right, after he had given up a single to Ryan Howard, with two men out.

Roy Halladay took the lost as he pitches eight innings, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on eleven hits, as he struck out eight. His record is now 8-6 with a 2.43 ERA. Chad Durbin pitches a 1-2-3 inning. Carl Pavano gets the win as he pitches a complete game, giving up just one run on four hits, as he strikes out two. His record is now 8-6 with an ERA of 3.64.

The Phils had only four hits in the game, singles from Placido Polanco, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, and a home run from Wilson Valdez. Yesterday’s lost was a result of Saturday’s extra-inning lost, as the Phils had the wind knocked out of their sails, after taking what looked like a commanding lead into the ninth and then watch the back end of the bullpen implode. Hopefully, they will be able to regroup as this is an off-day, and the team’s sparkplug, Jimmy Rollins, will be back in the line-up, starting tomorrow night. Please Jimmy, do not get hurt again this season!!! Oh, and start lighting up a few backsides while you’re at it, a few guys need it, seriously.

The Phils (35-32, 3rd NL East), as mentioned earlier, have the day off today. Fellows, please, use the time to get your minds off of this weekend’s fiasco, and just get ready to beat up on the Indians (26-42, 5th AL Central). And please, no repeat of what happen the last time you faced an AL last place team. Please, no getting swept!!!!!! That was too embarassing.

The Phils’ offense and Cole Hamels did everything right to win before the back end of the bullpen had a massive failure in the ninth which help led to an extra inning lost as the Phils lose a shoot out with the Twins, 13-10.

The Twins took a quick 2-0 lead as, with two men on and with one man out, Justin Morneau hits a two-run single, scoring Denard Span, who had earlier walked, went to second base on Orlando Hudson’s single, and then moved up to third on Brian Schneider’s pass ball, and Hudson, who had earlier singled and then moved up to second on Schneider’s pass ball. The Twins would make it a 3-0 lead two batters later as, with runners on the corners, thanks to Phils’ starter Cole Hamels’ throwing error to second on Michael Cuddyer ‘s grounder back to the mound, when he had the time to make a good throw to Chase Utley to start a possible double play, which sent Morneau to third, while Cuddyer was safe at first on the force attempt, as Delmon Young hits an RBI double, scoring Morneau, while sending Cuddyer to third. The Phils then came back in their half of the first. With two men on and with nobody out, Utley hits a two-run triple, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier singled, and had moved up to second on Placido Polanco’s walk, and Polanco, who had just walked, cutting the Twins’ lead to 3-2. The Phils then tied the game up at three-all as, with a runner on third, and now with one man out, Utley scored on Jayson Werth’s sacrifice fly pop foul to right, 4-unassisted, beating Hudson’s throw to the plate, as it got cut off before being sent towards the plate. The Phils took the lead in the second as Wilson Valdez hits a lead-off home run to left, his first home run of the year, giving the Phils a 4-3 lead. Four batters later, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Utley hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Hamel, who had earlier doubled, and had gone to third on Polanco’s double, making it a 5-3 Phils’ lead. Ryan Howard then made it a 7-3 Phils’ lead as he hit a two-run shot to center, his fourteenth home run of the season, knocking in Polanco. The Phils then made it 8-3 in the third as Raul Ibanez hits a lead-off home run to center, his fifth home run of the season. As the Phils’ bat were showing that they were back, Cole Hamels took control of the game from the second inning until he was taken out after the seventh inning, giving up only two more hits after getting out of a based loaded jam in the first, a lead-off home run to Morneau in the sixth, his fourteenth home run of the year, making it an 8-4 Phils’ lead, and a lead-off single to Nick Punto in the seventh, striking out seven, before being relieved. In the bottom of the seventh, the Phils’ made it 9-4 as Werth hits a solo home run, his twelfth home run of the season. The Phils then went into the top of the ninth with what looked like a commanding five runs lead, when the bullpen imploded. With one man on, and with nobody out, pinch hitter Jim Thome hits a pinch hit two-run bomb to center field, scoring Young, who had earlier singled, to make it a 9-5 Phils’ lead. Three batters later, with a runner on third and with one man out, Span hits an RBI single, scoring Punto, who had earlier walked, moved up to second on defensive indifference, and then went to third on Brad Lidge’s wild pitch, making it a 9-7 Phils’ lead. Three more batters later, with a runner on second, and now with two men out, the Twins tied the game up at nine-all as Joe Mauer hits a two-run home run, knocking in Span, who had earlier singled and then stole second. The Twins then took the lead in the tenth as pinch hitter Drew Butera hits a lead-off pinch hit home run, the first home run of his career, to make it a 10-9 Twins’ lead. The Phils tied it up at ten-all in their half of the tenth as, with two men out, pinch hitter Ross Gload hits a pinch hit home run. The Twins then took an 11-10 lead in the eleventh as, with runners on second and third and with two men out, Young, who the Phils did not intentionally walk to load the bases, hits an infield single, scoring Mauer, who had earlier walked, went to second when Morneau was intentionally walked, and then went to third on Joe Rauch’s sacrifice bunt, 3-unassistant, while Morneau, who was intentionally walked, and went to second on Rauch’s sac bunt, went to third. One batter later, the Twins took a 13-10 lead as, with two men on and still with two men out, Matt Tolbert hits an RBI double, scoring both Morneau and Young, before Tolbert is thrown out at third, 7-4-3. That would end up being the final score as, with a runner on second, Utley via a double, and with two men out, Rauch ended the game by striking out Howard swinging.

Cole Hamel receives a no-decision as he went seven innings, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on five hits and two walks, while striking out seven. J.C. Romero went two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face. Jose Contreras went a third of an inning, plus three batters, giving up three runs on two hits and a walk, striking out a batter. Brad Lidge receives his first blown save of the year as he pitches an inning, giving up two runs on two hits, as he strikes out one batter. Chad Durbin pitches an inning, as he gives up a run on four hits. Danys Baez took the lost as he gives up three runs on two hits and two walks, as he strikes out a batter. His record is now 2-3 with a 5.14 ERA. Kevin Slowey also receives a no-decision as he pitches only an inning and two-thirds, giving up seven runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out two. Jeff Manship pitches four and one-thirds innings, giving up a run on two hits and a walk, while striking out two. Brian Duensing pitches an inning, giving up a run on one hit. Matt Guerrier pitches two scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, while striking out four. Jon Rauch receives his third blown save of the year before picking up the win, as he pitches two innings, giving up a run on two hits, while striking out one. His record is now 2-1 with an ERA of 2.57.

The Phils had fourteen hits, with Chase Utley leading the team with three hits, a single, a double and a triple, a home run short of the cycle, knocking in three runs, one on a sac fly. He was followed by Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez, who both had two hits apiece, with Polanco’s hits being a single and a double, while Ibanez’s hits were also a single and a double, knocking in a run. Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Brian Schneider, Wilson Valdez, Cole Hamels and pinch hitter Ross Gload had the other seven Phils’ hits, with Victorino, Schneider and Hamels’ hits being singles, while Howard, Werth, Valdez and pinch hitter Gload’s hits were home runs, with Howard’s being a two-run home run, while Werth, Valdez and Gload’s were solo shots, while Werth knocked in two runs, with the other one coming via a sac fly. The offense’s power surge was sadly wasted by the bullpen’s late inning implosion.

The Phils (35-31, 3rd NL East) finish their three-games series with the Twins (39-29, 1st AL Central) with an afternoon game, already in progress, with the Phils trailing 4-1.

The Phils’ offense returns to score nine runs in the first five innings, giving strong support to starter Joe Blanton as the Phils defeat the Twins, 9-5.

The Phils struck early as they took the lead in the first inning. With a runner on third, and with one man out, Chase Utley, who some folks believe might have a hurt knee, thanks to reports earlier in the day, instead of simply being mired in a long-term slump, answers his critics by hitting an RBI single, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier walked, stole second base and then went to third on Placido Polanco’s ground out, 6-3, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. One batter later, with Utley on first, and with one man still out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI triple, scoring Utley with ease, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead. The Phils then made it 3-0 as, with Howard on third, and with still one out, Jayson Werth hits a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Howard. The Phils added to their lead in the second as, with two man on, and with two outs, Polanco hits an RBI single, knocking in Wilson Valdez, who had earlier singled, and then moved up to second on Victorino’s second walk in the game, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead, while sending Victorino up to second base. The Phils then made it 7-0 as, with two men on base, and still with two outs, Utley hits a three-run home run to right, his eleventh home run of the season, scoring both Victorino and Polanco. The next batter, Howard, followed Utley with a home run of his own to right, his twelfth home run of the season, making it an 8-0 Phils’ lead. In the top of the fifth, the Twins tried to get on the board as Jason Kubel, who had hit a lead-off triple to center, tried to stretch it into an inside-the-park home run. Instead, he is cut down at home plate by a strong throw to home by Utley, as Carlos Ruiz applied the tag, for an 8-4-2 put out. The Phils would then make it 9-0 in their half of the fifth as Howard hits a lead-off home run, his thirteenth home run of the season, and his second of the night. The Twins would finally get on the board in the sixth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Michael Cuddyer hits an RBI single, scoring Joe Mauer, who had earlier singled, and had gone to third on Justin Morneau’s single, making it a 9-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Morneau up to second base. The Twins would cut the Phils’ lead down to 9-3 in the seventh as, with a man on base, and with no one out, Nick Punto hits a two-run home run, knocking in Delmon Young, who had earlier singled. In the ninth, the Twins would decrease the Phils’ lead to 9-4 as, with the bases loaded, via singles to Young, Punto and Denard Span, and with one man out, Scott Mathieson, who was pitching in his first major league game since his second Tommy John surgery, threw a wild pitch, scoring Young, while moving Punto to third and Span to second. One batter later, with two men on, and with still one man out, Orlando Hudson hits into an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Punto, while sending Span on to third. After Mathieson is replaced on the mound with Brad Lidge, he ends the ballgame by getting Mauer to line out to right.

Joe Blanton gets the win, coming back from his shelling at the hands of the BoSox almost a week ago, as he pitches six innings, plus two batters, as he ran out of gas in the seventh, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks, while he strikes out one. His record is now 2-5 with a 6.96 ERA. Chad Durbin and J.C. Romero combined for two scoreless innings, giving up only one hit (Romero) between them, while striking out one batter (Durbin). Scott Mathieson pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs, on three hits and a wild pitch. Brad Lidge pitches a third of an inning, getting out the only man he would face. Nick Blackburn takes the lost as he last only one and two-thirds innings, giving up eight runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out two. His record is now 6-4 with a 5.80 ERA. Jesse Crain pitches two and one-third scoreless innings, striking out two batters. Ron Mahay pitches an inning, giving up a run on three hits. Brian Duensing, Matt Guerrier and Alex Burnett combine for three shut out innings, giving up just two hits (Guerrier and Burnett one hit each) and two walks (also Guerrier and Burnett one each).

The Phils had eleven hits in the game, with Ryan Howard leading the way as he went four for four ending up a single short of hitting the cycle, as he had a double, a triple and four home runs, knocking in three runs, while scoring three, as he had a total of thirteen total bases, tying a career high, as he raised his average to .293. Placido Polanco and Chase Utley followed with two hits each, with Polanco’s hits being two singles, as he knocked in a run, while Utley’s hits were a single and a three-run home run, knocking in four runs. Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz and Wilson Valdez had the other three Phils’ hits, all singles, with Werth knocking in the other Phil run, on a sac fly. The Phils hope that Ruiz is fine, as he was hit in the head by Jason Kubel’s broken bat in the top of the eight, being replace by Brian Schneider in the top of the ninth.

The Phils (35-30, 3rd NL East) continue their three-games series with the Twins (38-29, 1st AL Central) with a day game that will be nationally televised by Fox. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 4:15 pm Eastern. Cole Hamels (6-5, 3.74) will start for the Phils, hoping to continue on his previous gem against the Red Sox on June 13, where he pitched seven strong innings, giving up just one run on five hits and two walks, while striking out eight, as he picks up the win in the Phils’ 5-3 win. He will be trying to collect his seventh win of the season, while also going for his eighth quality start in his last nine starts. The Twins will counter with Kevin Slowey (7-4, 3.84), who is coming off a lost against the Braves on June 13, as he went only four and two-thirds inning, giving up six runs, five of which were earned, on nine hits and one walk, while he struck out six, in the Twins’ 7-3 lost. He will be trying to recover from the lost. The Phils’ offense will be trying to continue its present hot streak, while hoping that Hamels will continue to pitch like the team’s no. two pitcher.

Behind the surprisingly strong pitching of Kyle Kendrick, the Phils leave new Yankee Stadium on a high note as they defeat the World Champions Yankees, 7-1, giving them a 3-3 spilt on the road, after having been crushed in two straight games during the weekend by the BoSox.

The Phils took a 1-0 lead in the fourth as, with two men on base, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier singled and then reached second base on a force out attempt as Ramiro Pena committed a fielding error on a Placido Polanco grounder, while Placido would stop at second base. The Phils would increase their lead in the fifth as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Victorino hits a two-run home run, his eleventh home run of the year, knocking in Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier walked and then went to third on Wilson Valdez’s ground out, 6-3, to give the Phils a 3-0 lead. The Yanks got a run back in the sixth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Robinson Cano hits an RBI single, knocking in Mark Teixeira, who had earlier walked, and then went to second base on Alex Rodriguez’s single, making it a 3-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Rodriguez up to second. The Phils then put the game away in the ninth by playing like the team they were back in April and May before meeting the Red Sox. The Phils first increased their lead as, with a runner on second, and with nobody out, Valdez hits an RBI single, shooting it through the hole just vacated by shortstop Derek Jeter when the Yanks expected the Phils to sacrifice Ruiz, who had earlier doubled, to third, scoring Ruiz, and giving the Phils a 4-1 lead. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Victorino, after Valdez had stolen second base, and a walk to Chase Utley, moving both Valdez and Victorino up a base, and still with nobody out, Polanco hits a sacrifice fly for the first out of the inning, scoring Valdez, to give the Phils a 5-1 lead, and sending Victorino to third. The next batter, Howard, with runners on the corners, and now with one man out, would make it a 6-1 Phils’ lead by hitting a sacrifice fly, scoring Victorino. Two batters later, the Phils would make it a 7-1 lead as, with two men on, and now with two men out, Raul Ibanez hits an RBI double, scoring Utley, who had earlier stole second base, while sending Jayson Werth, who had just walked, over to third. That would be the final score as Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero would combine for a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Kyle Kendrick gets the win as he pitches a surprising seven strong innings against the Bronx Bombers, giving up just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out three. His record is now 4-2 with an ERA of 4.48. Jose Contreras receives his fifth hold of the year as he pitches one and one-third scoreless innings, as he strikes out one. J.C. Romero pitches two-thirds of an inning, getting out the two men that he would face. Andy Pettitte took the lost as he pitches seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out seven. His record is now 8-2 with an ERA of 2.47. David Robertson pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Joba Chamberlain pitches to three batters, giving up three runs on two hits and a walk. Damaso Marte pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on no hits and two walks. Chan Ho Park pitches a third of an inning, as he gives up two hits.

The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz leading the team with two hits apiece. Victorino’s two hits were a two-run home run and a single, knocking in two runs, while Ruiz’s two hits were both doubles, as he scored two runs. Placido Polanco, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco and Wilson Valdez had the other six Phils’ hits, with Polanco, Howard, Werth, Francisco and Valdez’s hits being singles, with Polanco and Valdez knocking in a run each, Polanco’s via a sac fly, while Howard knocked in two, with one via a sac fly, while Ibanez’s hit was a double, scoring a run. It would appear that the Phils’ offense is almost back. The question now is can they maintain the momentum from their last four games? Only time will tell.

The Phils (34-30, 3rd NL East) will start a nine-game home stand beginning with a three-game weekend series with the Twins (38-28, 1st AL Central), starting with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park, and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (1-5, 7.28), who is coming off a lost against the Red Sox on June 12, where he got bombed by the BoSox for nine runs on thirteen hits and a walk, while striking out four, in four innings of work, in the Phils’ 10-2 lost. Blanton will be trying to recover from his pounding at the hands of the BoSox, like Moyer did on Wednesday night. The Twins will counter with Nick Blackburn (6-3, 4.96), who is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on June 12, where he pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks, while he struck out two, in the Twins’ 3-2 lost. He will be gunning for his seventh win of the season. The Phils will be trying for this third win in a row, while trying to even up their record in interleague play.

The Phillies have just announced that they have completed a one-year, $1 million plus a 2011 club option with journeyman infielder Juan Castro. Castro, a fifteen-year veteran, who in 2009 played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, going .277 in 112 at-bats with a home run and nine RBIs, will take the place of recently released Eric Bruntlett. The career .230 has spent 15 years in the Majors, playing second base, shortstop, third base and left field for the Dodgers, Reds, Twins and Orioles. Castro’s major function on the team will be to give both Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins a few days off or to ask as a late innings replacement during the regular season. Here’s to hoping that Castro will be a big improvement over Bruntlett, who had a bad 2009 with the bat.

Helped by four home runs, Brett Myers would pitch eight strong innings as the Phils defeated the New York Yankees in the New Yankees Stadium, 7-3.

The Phillies took a quick 1-0 lead on the game’s first pitch as Jimmy Rollins hits a lead-off home run, his third home run of the season. In the second, the Phils increased their lead as, with one man on, and one man out, Carlos Ruiz hits a two-run home run, his first home run of the year, knocking in Matt Stairs, who had earlier singled, to give the Phils a 3-0 lead. In the fifth, with one man on, and two men out, Jayson Werth hits a two-run home run, his eighth home run of the year, scoring Ryan Howard, who had earlier hit into a force out, 1-6, wiping out Raul Ibanez, who had earlier walked, at second base, to make it a 5-0 Phils lead. The Yankees finally got onto the board in the sixth as, with two men out, Alex Rodriguez hits a solo home run, his sixth home run of the year, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead. The Phils got that run back in the seventh, as, with one man out, Ibanez hits a solo home run, his sixteenth home run of the season, giving the Phils a 6-1 lead. The Phils tacked on another run in the eighth as, with two men on, and one man out, Chase Utley hits an RBI single, scoring Pedro Feliz, who had earlier singled, and had gone on to second on Rollins’ single, making it a 7-1 Phils’ lead, while he sent Rollins, who had just singled, over to second. In the bottom half of the eighth, the Yanks would get a run back as Derek Jeter hits a lead-off home run, his sixth home run of the season, making it a 7-3 Phillies’ lead. Two batters later, with one man out, Mark Teixeira would hit a solo home run of his own, his twelfth home run of the season, cutting the Phillies’ lead down to 7-3. But that would be the final score as Ryan Madson would shut down the Yanks in the ninth inning.

Brett Myers got the win as he pitched eight strong innings, giving up three runs on eight hits, while striking out five. His record is now 4-2 with a 4.34 ERA. Ryan Madson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out a batter. A. J. Burnett took the lost, as he went six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, two walks and a hit batter, while he struck out seven. His record is now 2-2 with a 5.28 ERA. Chien-Ming Wang pitched three innings of relief, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk, as he struck out two.

The Phils had fourteen hits in the game, with Carlos Ruiz leading the way with four hits, raising his average to .271. Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino followed with two hits each. Chase Utley, Matt Stairs and Pedro Feliz had the other three Phillies’ hits.Ryan Howard was the other starter not to get a hit. Werth and Ruiz had two RBIs each, while Rollins, Ibanez and Utley each knocked in a run. The Phils had five extra-base hits in the game, four home runs and a triple. The Phillies have now won seven of the eight games that they have so far played on this road trip as they go for their third straight road series win this afternoon.

The Phillies (23-17, 1st) continue their three-games weekend series with the Yankees (24-18, 3rd American League East), with an afternoon game that will be televised nationally on Fox Sports. The game will begin at 4:10 pm Eastern at the new Yankees Stadium. The Phillies will send to the mound J.A. Happ (2-0, 2.49), who will be making his first start of the season. His last appearance, as a reliever, was made on May 15, as he pitched two innings, giving up no runs on one hit and a walk, while striking out three, as he picked up the win, in the Phils’ 10-6 extra-innings win. Happ will be going out there to prove that he deserved to be the team’s fifth starter. The Yankees will counter with Andy Pettitte (4-1, 4.18), who is coming off a win against the Twins on May 18, where he went six and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on twelve hits and one walk, while striking out three, in the Yanks’ 7-6 win. He will be going for his fifth win of the season. The Phillies will be going out to try and win their eighth game in their ten games road trip, while showing that they are a team to be respected.

The Phillies scored twelve runs yesterday as they crushed the Reds, 12-5, giving them their second straight series win on the road, as they head on to New York for their first visit to the New Yankees Stadium for an Interleague series with the Yankees.

The Phillies took a quick 1-0 lead in the first as, with two men on, and nobody out, Raul Ibanez hits an RBI ground out, 4-3, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier singled, and had gone to third on Chase Utley’s double. The Phils made it 3-0 in the second as, with two men on, and two outs, Utley hits a two-run single, knocking in Phils’ starter Joe Blanton, who had earlier walked, had gone to second on Rollins’ single, and then went to third on Reds’ catcher Ryan Hanigan’s throwing error when he tried to pick him off second, and Rollins, who had earlier singled, and had gone to second with a stolen base, his 300th career steal. Ibanez made it 4-0 Phillies with an RBI double, scoring Utley. In the third, with two men out, Greg Dobbs hits a solo home run, his first home run of the season, making it a 5-0 Phillies’ lead. In the fifth, once again with two men out, Utley hits a solo home run of his own, his eleventh home run of the year, and his third hit of the game, to give the Phils a 6-0 lead. In the Reds’ fifth, they would finally get to Blanton, who was breezing through their lineup before then. With two men on, and one out, Wily Taveras hits an RBI single, scoring Hanigan, who had earlier singled, had move on to second on Paul Janish’s single, and had gone to third on Ramon Ramirez’s sacrifice bunt, making it a 6-1 Phillies’ lead, while sending to third Hanigan, who had earlier singled and had went to second on Ramirez’s sac bunt. Adam Rosales followed him with an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Janish, making it a 6-2 Phils’ lead, while moving Taveras up to second base. Two batters later, after Jay Bruce was walked, Brandon Phillips cut the Phils’ lead down to 6-5 as he hits a three-run home run, his seventh home run of the year, scoring both Taveras and Bruce. The Phils would get a run back in the sixth, as, with two men on base, and one out, Utley hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier walked, had gone to third on Rollins’ single, beating the throw to third, as the Phils increased their lead to 7-5. The Phils would break the game open in the seventh. Ryan Howard started the inning off by hitting a lead-off home run, his tenth home run of the year, making it an 8-5 Phillies’ lead. Later in the inning, with two men on, and two men out, pinch hitter Pedro Feliz hits a two-run pinch hit double, scoring Shane Victorino, who had earlier doubled, and had gone to third on Ruiz’s ground out, and Dobbs, who had been intentionally walked and had moved up to second on Ruiz’s ground out, giving the Phils a 10-5 lead. Rollins then made it an 11-5 Phils’ lead, as he hits an RBI single, his fourth hit of the game, scoring Feliz, who beat the throw to the plate, as Rollins moved up to second on the throw. The Phils made it 12-5 in the eighth, as Ibanez hits a lead-off home run, his fifteenth home run of the season. That would be the final score as Sergio Escalona came in and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Joe Blanton got the victory, although going only five innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk, as he struck out four. His record is now 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA. Clay Condrey pitched a scoreless inning as he recorded his third hold, giving up only one hit and a walk. Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park and Sergio Escalona each pitched a scoreless inning, giving up only a hit among them (Eyre) and three walks (Eyre (1) and Park (2)), while they struck out 2 (Eyre (1), Park (1)). Micah Owings took the lost as he went only three innings, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out only three. Ramon Ramirez pitched two and a third innings, giving up two runs on one hit and a walk, while striking out three. Daniel Ray Herrera pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on two hits. Jared Burton pitched an inning, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk, as he struck out two. Mike Lincoln pitched an inning, giving up a run on one hit, while striking out one. David Weathers pitched an inning, giving up no runs on one hit, as he struck out two.

The Phillies had fourteen hits, with Jimmy Rollins leading the way with four, followed by Chase Utley with three. Raul Ibanez followed them with two hits of his own. Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Carlos Ruiz and Pedro Feliz had the other five Phils’ hits. The Phillies had nine extra-base hits in the game, five doubles and four home runs, all solo shots. Utley had four RBIs, followed by Ibanez with three. Feliz knocked in two runs, while Rollins, Howard and Dobbs knocked in a run apiece. The Phillies also had two stolen bases, one by Rollins, his 300th career stolen base as a Phil and one by Victorino. The Phillies, so far during their road trip, have gone 6-1, beating a good Reds team.

The Phillies (22-17, 1st) start interleague play tonight by going to New York City to face the Yankees (24-17, 3rd American League East) for the first time in their new ballpark, the New Yankees Stadium. The game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound Brett Myers (3-2, 4.50), who is coming off a win against the Nationals in the first game of a day-nght doubleheader on May 16, where he pitched seven very strong innings, giving up only two runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out eight, in the Phils’ 8-5 win. He will be looking to improve on his record, while trying to win his third start in a row. The Yankees will counter with A. J. Burnett (2-1, 5.02), who is coming off a no-decision against the Twins on May 17, where he went six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on six hits and six walks, while striking out seven, in the Yankees’ 3-2 win. He will be looking to increase his record. The Phillies will be going to the Yankees new home trying to do better than they did last season in interleague play.

With Opening Day/Night now just two weeks away, Kyle Kendrick finally pitched a good game yesterday afternoon, as the Phillies lose a close one to the Minnesota Twins, 2-1.

Kyle Kendrick started the game for the Phils. In the first inning, he gave up two runs on ground ball hits that his infielders were unable to field, giving the Twins an early 2-0 lead. He would then settle down and pitch four shut out innings. Total, he pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four. Clay Condrey followed him, pitching two scoreless innings, giving up three hits. Brad Lidge and Scott Eyre then took the mound, with both men pitching a shut out inning as they gave up a hit (Lidge) and a walk (Lidge) while striking out three Twins (Lidge (2), Eyre (1)). Kendrick took the lost, his grapefruit league record now at 1-3 with a 9.20 ERA.

The Phillies got only five hits in the game, with John Mayberry, Jr., leading the way with two hits. Eric Bruntlett, Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz got the other three hits, with Bruntlett’s hit being a solo home run, knocking in the only Phils’ run, as Twins’ pitching keeps the bats silent.

Meantime, Cole Hamels pitched a bullpen session yesterday, saying that his elbow felt fine. He should be pitching in a minor league game this upcoming week. Hopefully, this means that he will be ready for Opening Night, if not actually be the Opening Night pitcher.

The Phillies next game will be played this afternoon against the Boston Red Sox. The game starts at 1:05 pm.

In Grapefruit League play yesterday afternoon, the Phillies played the Cardinals to a 2-2, 10-innings tie, thanks to a Tyler Greene throwing error in the sixth inning.

Pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco started the game for the Phils, giving up two runs, with both runs coming in on a two-run home run by Rick Ankiel in the third, on three hits and two walks. Chad Durbin follows him to the mound, pitching an inning and a third of shut out ball, giving up no hits while walking two batters and striking out one. Ryan Madson then takes the mound, giving up no runs on a hit while striking out one in an inning and two thirds of work. Mike Koplove takes over, and pitches an inning and a third of shut out ball, giving up only one hit and a walk as he strikes out one batter. Jake Woods takes the mound in the tenth, giving up only one hit as he keeps the Cardinals from scoring a run, as the Phillies play their second tie in three games. Although Carrasco is likely not going north with the main team, he is likely to get sent to Lehigh Valley for more seasoning, and possible call up if something happens to someone on the main team during the season.

Among the batters, the Phils had a total of nine hits, with four batters having two hits apiece: Eric Bruntlett, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Geoff Jenkins, with one of Howard’s hits being a solo home run, his sixth home run of the spring. Carlos Ruiz had the Phils other hit. Howard had the Phils only RBI of the game, while Utley scored the second Phils’ run. Now having played in three Grapefruit League games, Utley, who appears to be ready to play second base on Opening Night, has a .333 batting average, while Howard has increased his average to .310 with his two hits.

The Phillies next spring training game is presently in progress with the Minnesota Twins at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, with the Phils’ trailing the Twins, 2-0, after at least one half-inning of play.

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